Low (David Bowie album)

arts, ideas & societyWikipedia1977 · Berlin

Low (David Bowie album)

the gist

Low is David Bowie's 1977 album, recorded after he moved to France and then Berlin with Iggy Pop to escape drug addiction. It was the first of three albums made with producer Tony Visconti and Brian Eno that became known as the Berlin Trilogy. Bowie drew on German bands such as Kraftwerk and Neu! and made his first explorations of electronic and ambient sound. Side one holds short, downbeat song fragments, while side two is mostly instrumental music inspired by Berlin.

how it works

Visconti created the album's distinctive drum sound with an Eventide H910 Harmonizer, a pitch-shifting device. Layering shifted and processed signals gave the drums an unusual, spacious texture.

so what

RCA initially refused to release it, and critics were divided, yet it reached number 2 in the UK. It is now regarded as one of Bowie's best works and a forerunner of post-rock, and its drum sound was widely copied by post-punk bands.

the bigger pattern

Artists often respond to a crisis with a sharp change of direction. Bowie left a comfortable rock career for experimental German-influenced music, and that path later shaped post-punk and electronic music.

fun fact

The cover is a profile of Bowie from The Man Who Fell to Earth, chosen as a visual pun on the word low profile.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Illustrative photo · Descornet, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

historyWikipediaclassic1336–1565 · Karnataka, India

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗